Abstract
Pressure tubes were initially made of Zircaloy-2 but for Pickering Unit 3 and all subsequent power reactors, pressure tubes have been made from Zr-2,5 wt %Nb, The current tubes have a design life of 30 yr and are made by the same extrusion and cold drawing process used to make the Zircaloy-2 tubes, Recent developments have shown that the fabrication route can be modified to change the microstructure and produce tubes that have the same strength, but lower axial elongation, Investigation of other zirconium alloy systems for a high strength alloy resulted in the alloy Excel (Zr-3.5wt % Sn, 0.8wt %Mo, 0.8wt %Nb) being developed for tubes with better in-reactor dimensional stability. Results are promising and long term in-reactor tests are continuing. The relative importance of microstructural and alloying effects on in-reactor properties has yet to be determined.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
